Life's Waters
by GlaiveGirl
Summary: A girl joins the Queen's Riders and discovers that her parent's deaths might not have been an accident. I might bump the rating up later for violence.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: This world and most of the characters are Tamora Pierce's, not mine. The plot and some of the characters are mine and no one has permission to use them except me . A/N: This is set right after Squire. This is my first fanfic so please review.  
  
Chapter one: Fire!  
  
Yallara set the basket she had been carrying on the table " Ma," she called.  
  
" No need to shout, honey," Answered a short, plump lady as she came through the door. " I'm right here."  
  
" Oh. Well, I'm done with those deliveries. Do you mind if I go out now?"  
  
Yallara's mother took on a look of regret. " I'm sorry, Yallara, but I need you to help me fill the orders. I have five dresses due tomorrow and I haven't even started two of them."  
  
Yallara let out a small groan. " Ma, you know I hate sewing."  
  
" I know, I know. But you are very good at it and I need your help. Besides, you need to develop your skills for when you find a husband." Her ma said knowingly.  
  
Yallara wanted to argue that she had no intention of marrying anytime soon, even though she was fifteen and was old enough for such things, but she knew better than to say so. Instead she sighed resignedly and settled into a corner of the shop that was attached to their house. She fixed her green eyes on the dress she was to work on and started setting the small even stitches her mother praised her for.  
  
While she worked she noticed little else. She had no idea how long she had been working when she realized someone had asked her a question. " What?" She as she worked on the last stitches needed to finish the dress.  
  
" I said, Do you like to sew?" replied a male voice.  
  
" Not really, in fact I hate it." She told him as she tied the last not and snipped the thread.  
  
" Really?" he sounded surprised. " You do so well I never would have guessed."  
  
She looked up at him sharply not sure if he was flirting or not. She found herself looking at a handsome young man with dark blue eyes and curly blonds-brown hair. Most girls would have gone all dreamy eyed, Yallara just shrugged delicately, wondering what he was doing in a dress shop. As if he read her mind her pointed over at her mother who was fitting a young girl for a dress.  
  
" I came with my sister," he explained. " Where are my manners?" He said suddenly. " I'm Mainar Lardan. And you must be Yallara Cordel. I heard about you through my father."  
  
" Oh? What does he say about me?" she asked.  
  
" Many things, though I'm afraid he didn't give you full credit. But then, how could words ever express what I see now."  
  
Yallara stood up slowly, and after setting the dress on the chair and lifting her skirts daintily, she kicked him on the shin and stormed up stairs to her rooms.  
  
Picking up the mirror she looked at herself. Sometimes she wished she wasn't so attractive, with her light green eyes, full lips, and long brown hair. If men didn't take such interest in her maybe she'd have more of a chance to convince her parents to let her join the Queen's Riders.  
  
Her parents were conservative, but not as strict about it as some. She had talked to them about her dream to become a Rider before but they said a warrior's life was not the life of a lady and certainly not the life they wanted for their daughter. She still had some hope though and intended to talk to them about it later. Peeking back down stairs she was relieved to see that the Lardan's had left. She picked up another dress and started sewing.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
" We'll think about it," her father told her. " Now go get ready for bed."  
  
Yallara left the room with an exited smile on her face.  
  
Her father sat in a chair by the fire. He was a captain of the palace guard, one of the best, and he knew the cost of battle and that was one of the many reasons he didn't want his daughter to have any part in it. But he also knew his daughter.  
  
" I don't think we're going to dissuade her," he said to his wife.  
  
" We can't just let her go!" her mother exclaimed. " My little girl, going into battle."  
  
Father got up and started pacing. " We should let her go for a trial year, to get the itch out of her feet, as you might say. In a few months she'll probably want to come home and she'll turn her mind to marriage and family."  
  
Yallara's mother nodded agreement. They finished their discussion and her mother came up to tell her the news.  
  
Yallara heard the knocks at her door. " Come in," she called. " It's not locked."  
  
Her mother came in to find her sitting on her bed and sat down next to her.  
  
" Well, your father and I have discussed it and we have decided to let you go for a trial year." Her mother barely had time to finish her sentence as Yallara flung her arms around her. " Save your elation until after you hear what I have to say." Yallara settled down.  
  
" There are conditions. As I said this is a trial year, alright?" Yallara nodded. " Also, we have been invited to dinner at the house of the merchant that supplies your father's men. The condition is that you have to be nice to their son." Her mother finished.  
  
" Is that all?" Yallara asked, earning her a disapproving look from her mother. " I will. I will. I promise," she said giving her mother another hug.  
  
Yallara finally calmed down enough to ask the name of the people that had invited them. " Lardan," her mother replied. Yallara froze. " Are you ok, honey?"  
  
" Uh, yeah. Fine, ma," she replied weakly.  
  
" Ok, honey," she turned to leave. " Oh, yes. Yallara, please dress nicely. It is important that we stay on these people's good side."  
  
" Yes, ma'am."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Yallara draped her lace shawl over her shoulders, completely ready to go. A quick look in the mirror showed her that her hair was perfectly in it's place, the red lip color neatly applied, that her green dress, chosen to match her eyes, was smooth, not a wrinkle in sight.  
  
A knock sounded at the door. Yallara walked over and opened it. Her father stood there looking dashing in the suit her mother had made him. He had dark hair and beard and dark eyes. Her father was also very tall, Yallara sometimes joked that she had inherited both her mother and father's stature leaving her at a nice average height.  
  
He took one look at her and smiled. " You look just like your mother," he told her. " only taller." He lowered his voice, " Don't tell her I said that." He winked and it was her turn to smile.  
  
" Said what?" Her mother asked coming into the hall.  
  
" Oh, nothing." He replied. " I was only telling her how beautiful she was and how much she resembled her mother." He leaned down and kissed her mother.  
  
Her mother smiled and looked at Yallara. " Oh, honey you look wonderful. You only need one more thing." She held up a necklace. It was gold twined around a shimmering pearl suspended on a fine gold chain.  
  
Yallara gasped. " It's beautiful," she breathed. Her father took it and clasped it around her neck.  
  
" You're father gave it to me on our engagement night," her mother told her.  
  
" Oh, thank you," she said giving them both a big hug.  
  
" Alright," her mother told them. " We can't dally or we'll be late."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The night was extremely boring. Mainar kept watching her through dinner, making Yallara blush and her mother wink. After dinner they retired to a cozy study where Mrs. Cordel and Mrs. Lardan discussed recipes and the men talked about politics. Neither issue held any interest for Yallara, so she sat there smiling politely and feeling stupid.  
  
The evening wore into night and at last they left. Her mother talked about how lovely the evening was.  
  
" Wasn't Mainar nice, Yallara?" her mother asked Yallara mumbled something about him being nicer if he didn't stare so much, which made her mother grin and started her blushing again.  
  
" I'm going for a walk," Yallara stated and hurried off, not wanting to hear more.  
  
" Alright, but don't stay out too long," her mother called after her.  
  
When Yallara had gotten far enough away she slowed her pace. " I don't get it," she said to herself. " She urges me to marry, yet if I ever do I bet she'll cry and talk about how her little baby grew up so fast." She shook her head. " Maybe I'll understand when I have children."  
  
" Don't you mean if you have children."  
  
She spun around to find herself facing Mainar her shawl in his hands.  
  
" What are you doing here?" she demanded sharply. " I wanted to walk in peace."  
  
" That's a little rude, don't you think?" he asked.  
  
" Probably. But I think it's rude to stare," she told him. To her amusement he blushed.  
  
" Sorry," he mumbled. " I kind of wanted to get back at you for walking out on me. No girl has ever done that to me before. Speaking of which, don't you think kicking is rude?"  
  
Now she blushed. " Maybe a little, but I hardly feel like being nice to someone who flirts with the first pretty girl he sees. And for your information, I have walked out on every single guy that's ever flirted with me and you're the first guy I haven't slapped for staring at me like you were over dinner. And don't get the wrong idea, it wasn't because I didn't want to. And now, thanks to you, my ma thinks you like me."  
  
" But I do like you," he protested. " Why do you think I flirted with you?"  
  
" No, you don't like me. You like my pretty face and well bred manners. You don't even know me."  
  
" I'd like to know you," he told her.  
  
" You have a strange way of telling me," she replied.  
  
" No I don't. Most girls like flirting and take it as a show of interest, just because you don't is no reason to reject a man completely."  
  
" Tell me, what do you think of me now?" she demanded. " The real me. Under all the polite smiles and dainty curtsies? What do you think of my mind? And spirit? And temper that can match the Lioness?"  
  
" Believe me, your temper is not near as fierce as the Lioness. I ought to know," he said. Yallara stared at him. " What?"  
  
It was his turn to be amused. " You can't be in the Own under Raoul and not at least see the Lioness."  
  
" You've met sir Alanna?"  
  
He nodded. " Keladry too. I've met just about all the famous women warriors."  
  
Yallara hesitated. " Then-then it wouldn't surprise you if I told you I wanted to join the Riders?"  
  
He shook his head. " Many girls want to now days."  
  
Yallara's mind was racing a mile a minute.  
  
" You are just now realizing that you don't know me either, aren't you?" Mainar said in a gentle way that didn't make this humiliating news feel worse.  
  
She nodded.  
  
" Why don't we start over?" He proposed. " Hello, I'm Mainar Lardan."  
  
" It's nice to meet you, I'm Yallara Cordel," she replied and they both smiled.  
  
" Here." He held out her shawl. " I originally came to return this. You left it at our house."  
  
" Thank you, I was getting cold." She rapped the shawl around her. " Would you care to walk with me?"  
  
" I would," he smiled slowly. " You know, you're even more beautiful when you're angry."  
  
" Do you want to be kicked again?" she asked menacingly.  
  
He held up his hands in surrender. " Ok, I won't mention it again."  
  
There was a short silence.  
  
" Did you get to meet Buri?" she asked.  
  
" Yep." And he proceeded to tell her the story about how someone had tried to play a trick on Buri but had gotten their fingers glued to the saddle in the process then the horse had been spooked by a dog and went galloping off, the man still attached to the saddle.  
  
" Poor fellow." Mainar finished, shaking his head while yallara laughed. She wiped her watering eyes.  
  
" Do you smell something?" Mainar asked.  
  
" It smells like smoke," she answered, sniffing the air.  
  
They searched the skies and finally in the darkness they saw smoke rising and the orange glow of fire.  
  
" A building's on fire!" he exclaimed.  
  
Yallara grabbed his arm tightly. " That's in my district," she said and bolted off before he could do anything. He raced after her.  
  
Even before she saw it she knew without doubt that it was her house on fire. At first she could only stare at the burning house and the people throwing buckets of water on it and the houses around it, but then she began searching frantically for her parents. Though she searched everywhere, she could not find them.  
  
She turned to Mainar as tears welled in her eyes. " They're not here," She sobbed. And he held her as she cried into his shoulder. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two: A New Life Begins  
  
  
  
The ashes crunched under her feet. She had come to say a silent goodbye to her old life, once and for all. The fire had consumed everything. The only things she had left were the things she was wearing. Which now looked quite drab with holes where stray sparks had burned through the fabric. Her hair was wind tossed and smelled of smoke, and her eyes were a little red from loss of sleep. She had not gotten to bed 'till early morning and then her sleep had been troubled by nightmares.  
  
The weather could not have been more fitting to her mood, it was overcast and pouring down rain. Mainar came up behind her.  
  
" What are you going to do now?" he asked.  
  
" Join the Riders," she replied quietly. " What else can I do?"  
  
" There are plenty of things you could do," he protested. " Surely you have other relatives and my parents would be happy to have you stay with them-"  
  
" You misunderstand me," she interrupted. " What I meant was what else could I do, now that I have the opportunity, than follow my dreams. I don't see how I could live with myself if I didn't take this opportunity. The Riders' Horsemistress is coming tomorrow, I should get settled in today. Would you come with me?" She looked up at him, her eyes silently pleading with him. It broke his heart to tell her he could not.  
  
" I have to get back to the Own, we're marching out tomorrow. I hate to leave like this."  
  
She nodded understanding her head drooping. He reached for her chin and lifted it gently.  
  
" Listen, I'll come visit you when I'm in town and I'll send you letters while I'm out of town. If you need anything and I'm not here ask my parents, they should be able to help."  
  
She gave him an unexpected hug. " Thanks." She whispered. " You're a real friend." She turned to leave but stopped when her foot hit something hard. She picked up a metal rod with scorch marks on it. She hurried away telling herself repeatedly that she was not going to cry.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
On her way to the Riders she stopped by a public fountain and washed her hair. Luckily it was still fairly early in the morning so she didn't have to worry about people staring at her. As she neared the Riders she saw the trainees working in the training yards. She made her way to the living areas. No one was in the mess hall or in the other corridors and rooms that Yallara searched in. Just as she was about to go to the training yards, as much as she hated to disturb them, a boy came around the corner. He was a trainee and was limping on a bandaged ankle.  
  
Noticing her look he gave her a wry grin. " Twisted my ankle," he explained. " Good thing the ponies are coming tomorrow. No need to walk then."  
  
" I suppose not," she replied.  
  
" Are you lost or somethin'?" He asked.  
  
" Um, could you tell my where I can sign up for the Riders?"  
  
" You'd want to talk to someone in charge," he pointed out obviously. " Most of 'em are busy but you can try Mistress Kuri, she just finished patching my ankle. She's in the room over there." He pointed. She nodded thanks and proceeded to the room he had pointed out. She entered and found a tall woman with red-bronze hair.  
  
"Excuse me." Yallara said.  
  
The woman looked up. " Oh, hello. I'm Kuri Taylor. Can I help you?"  
  
" I wanted to sign up for the Riders," Yallara explained.  
  
" I see. Well, have a seat. I'll be back shortly," Kuri told her.  
  
Yallara sat down and waited for Kuri. Kuri returned with an application sheet and a writing utensil.  
  
" All right , I just need to ask you some questions," Kuri announced. " What's your name?"  
  
" Yallara Cordel."  
  
Kuri stopped writing.  
  
" Daughter of Capt. Jearrick Cordel?" she asked. Yallara nodded. " We heard about your parents. I'm sorry." Yallara nodded again.  
  
Kuri went back to the application. " Do you have any medical problems or handicaps?"  
  
" No."  
  
" How old are you?"  
  
" Fifteen."  
  
" Have you had any previous experience with horses or ponies, mapping, herbs, extensive history, tracking, use of weapons, tactics, strategy, or knowledge of immortals?" Kuri continued.  
  
" I have learned history and a little mapping from my father. Of immortals I know only the rumors. Other than that, no," Yallara replied.  
  
" Do you have any areas of expertise?"  
  
" I can sew well, an ability I'm not fond of, and I can climb nearly anything."  
  
" Are you married or planning on becoming so?"  
  
Yallara turned slightly pink. " No," she replied.  
  
" Can you read and write?"  
  
Yallara was a little indignant that Kuri had to ask. " Yes."  
  
" Ok, that's everything. Welcome to the Queen's Riders. Follow me and I'll get you outfitted."  
  
Kuri took her to a room lined with shelves that held clothes, organized by size.  
  
" I'll just take your measurements," she said as she pulled out a knotted cord.  
  
" No need," Yallara told her and continued to name off her measurements.  
  
" Well, that simplifies things considerably," Kuri commented, smiling. She went to a shelf and pulled out several pairs of breaches and shirts. " You're not opposed to breeches, are you?" she asked.  
  
" Not at all," Yallara replied. " I've been waiting my whole life to wear them."  
  
Kuri chuckled softly. " Wonder how many girls would say that? Here try these on."  
  
Once they had all her clothes Kuri showed her up to the girl's dormitory.  
  
" See that?" Kuri asked pointing to a yellow door down the hall. " That's the boy's dormitory and off limits to all girls."  
  
Kuri opened the door to the girl's dormitory to reveal beds lining both walls. A trunk was at the end of each bed and bedside tables. There was one thing area that drew her attention. Where a bed should have been was a space virtually empty except for some straw.  
  
" What's that for?" she asked.  
  
" Kala, that's how she's used to sleeping," Kuri replied.  
  
" Why?"  
  
Kuri shrugged a twinkle in her eye. " You'll find out when she gets here tomorrow with Onua."  
  
The rest of the morning was spent setting things up to her liking, and a tour Kuri was kind enough to give her. At noon Yallara went down to the mess hall for lunch. The mess hall was packed. This must be the biggest group of trainees ever. All the noise started giving Yallara a headache. After she got her tray of food she looked for a place to sit and saw Kuri waving for her to come over to her table, which was occupied by two other grownups.  
  
Yallara made her way over to them.  
  
" Whose this, Kuri?" Yallara heard a woman ask once she was close.  
  
" A new recruit," Kuri replied. " This is Yallara Cordel."  
  
Yallara looked at the other people at the table. One was a tall dark skinned man, who she knew by description to be Sarge. The other was a woman who had black hair and looked very elegant, she must have been the woman who had spoken earlier and was unmistakably Queen Thayet.  
  
Yallara hesitated a second, not knowing how to curtsy while wearing breeches. She decided to bow as she had seen her father do. " Your Majesty," she said.  
  
Thayet smiled. " Around here I try to lose the Queen. So there's no need for such formality," she said.  
  
" I wouldn't call that formal," Yallara muttered to herself, thinking about her unpracticed bow instead of the ladylike curtsy she was familiar with.  
  
" You can tell she's a Cordel," Thayet exclaimed. " Straight forward, proper, and stubborn, just like her parents."  
  
Yallara looked down at her food suddenly losing her appetite.  
  
" Now look what you've done," Kuri scolded. Yallara looked up, shocked that Kuri would speak to the Queen like that. No one else seemed to notice.  
  
" I'm sorry," Thayet amended. " We all grieved over your parents deaths."  
  
" Your father was a good man," Sarge told her. " And a great commander."  
  
" Thanks," she said, feeling better. There was a short silence.  
  
" You know, I'm surprised you're here," Thayet commented.  
  
" Why?" Yallara asked.  
  
" I thought your family was conservative. They were against the law that girls could train to be knights, and they stayed away from Sir Alanna"  
  
Yallara laughed. " Well, you probably should let Sir Alanna know that it was nothing personal, they just didn't think they should enforce something they did not believe in. Same with the law the king passed. For me, I wanted to join the Queen's Riders since I first remember seeing one at the age of five. I finally convinced my parents to let me go for a trial year. I doubt they thought I would stay that long." She shrugged. " I have to try anyway." She couldn't bring herself to say that after what happened she hadn't felt that she had much of a choice.  
  
" Ah, I see. Well, we're glad to have you with us," Thayet told her.  
  
After lunch the trainees went back outside. Yallara though technically a trainee now, would not actually start until tomorrow. Instead she spent the afternoon catching up on studies so that she wouldn't be behind the other trainees. After dinner, which Yallara enjoyed better due to the lessening of noise, she joined the trainees in a lesson about edible wild berries and meditation. This was a new experience to her and not an easy one. No matter how hard she tried she could not focus on nothing. It kept drifting to the headache she was getting or how tired she felt, on the good side she didn't fall asleep like some of the trainees because she couldn't sleep sitting up. Finally, after what seemed like forever, it was time for bed. Yallara had just enough time to pull the covers up before she drifted off to sleep. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three: The first day  
  
Yallara heard a distant shout through her sleep. Then someone came and shook her awake.  
  
" Get up. Everyone is to be down in the mess hall in fifteen minutes." A voice said in her ear. That woke her up.  
  
She sat up and cleared her eyes. All the girls were up and getting dressed, if she didn't hurry she'd be late. Getting up from her bed she hurried to her trunk and pulled out a set of clothes that Kuri had given her yesterday.  
  
She stripped off her nightshirt and pulled on the shirt and breeches. She grabbed her boots and pulled them on while hopping to the bathroom were she had to wait in line to clean her teeth and wash her face. She was still tying her hair back in a horsetail when she left the room, running to catch up to the others.  
  
When she finally made it to the mess hall, almost taking a wrong turn on the way, she breathed a sigh of relief to see that people were still getting their food. She grabbed a tray and moved down the line getting bread and fruit for breakfast. When she was done she looked around to find a seat.  
  
The only seat available was next to a dark haired boy. It was the same boy who had twisted his ankle. She set her tray down and slid into the seat.  
  
" Hello," he greeted. " I see you got in, mind you that's the easy part."  
  
" Yes, so I've heard," she returned politely.  
  
" Who from?" he asked.  
  
" My father," she said simply.  
  
He must have noticed the tenseness in her voice because he dropped the subject. Just then Sarge stood and they gave thanks.  
  
" You'll want to eat quickly," he warned. " Breakfast doesn't last very long."  
  
Sure enough five minutes after that Sarge stood up again.  
  
" I'm sure word has spread by now that Onua the Horsemistress has returned and we're all ready to get down to work," Sarge's voice boomed out easily over the crowd. " When you've put your trays up report to the pony yard. There you'll pick your mounts who'll be your closest partners, along with your rider group, for the next several years. Dismissed."  
  
Everyone scrambled to get up and put their trays away. Yallara stuffed the last of her roll into her mouth and got up along with the dark haired boy. She handed her tray in to the kitchen staff and ran out to the yard.  
  
She saw all the beautiful ponies milling around the yard. One in particular caught her eye, it was a rich brown bay, although Yallara didn't know that was what it was called, she had very little experience with ponies or horses. The head and forelegs of the pony were behind a tree so it didn't know Yallara was looking at it.  
  
She glanced around and saw that the other trainees were approaching some of the other ponies cautiously and that Onua, Sarge, Kuri, and Thayet were sitting on the fence watching with amused looks on their faces.  
  
Taking courage from what she saw, Yallara approached the beautiful pony.  
  
" Here, boy, c'mere. Would you like an apple? You're the most beautiful pony I've ever seen."  
  
Suddenly the pony backed up until Yallara could see the whole thing. Her jaw dropped as she gazed at the most strange and wonderful thing she had ever seen.  
  
Where its neck should have been the hair blended smoothly into human flesh.  
  
" While I'm glad you think I'm pretty, I would like to point out a few mistakes," the centaur said. " First of all, do I look like a boy to you? And I'd thank you to note that I'm not a pony nor part pony, that's an insult to my kind. If you have to say anything then I'm part horse. And, no, I do not want an apple." The centaur stalked off indignantly.  
  
" Oops." Was all Yallara could say.  
  
After a moment she heard laughter and turned around to find a boy nearly doubled up.  
  
" I doubt you would have done better,' she accused.  
  
" At least I would've known that she was a girl," he said before bursting into laughter again.  
  
Yallara scowled at him and felt a hand on her shoulder.  
  
" Maybe I should've warned you," Kuri commented apologetically though the look on her face was not apologetic at all. " Kala is very sensitive about things like that. I'd say she'll be mad at you for three weeks."  
  
" Is she that mad?" Yallara asked surprised.  
  
" Looks like it. Now don't forget you're here to pick your mounts. Why don't you try that one over there. If you need help ask the Horsemistress or Kala."  
  
" Would Kala still help me even though she's mad at me?" Yallara wondered out loud.  
  
" Of course. Kala knows her duty and does it despite personal feelings. That's something we're going to try and drill into you trainees."  
  
Kuri left Yallara to ponder this and to pick out her ponies. She ended up with a gray mare whose color reminded her of a stormy sky and a roan gelding who was kind of fidgety but seemed to like her well enough.  
  
Even though Yallara knew that Kala was mad at her, she felt more comfortable going to Kala for pony inspection than to Onua the Horsemistress. Yallara supposed this was because Onua was a grown-up and Kala seemed to be about her age. Not only that but in spite of herself Yallara was curious about the centaur.  
  
" Well, the roan is a fidgety fellow," Kala stated. " If you're just beginning riding you might consider a pony more like her." She gestured to the mare. " Although it's not required. He has taken to you, it probably wouldn't be to hard to get him to listen to you. There both in good condition and are a good size for you."  
  
Yallara nodded. " That's what first attracted me to them." She though for a moment, " I'll keep them both."  
  
" Very good. Go ahead and take them to the stables. You'll need to brush them out and feed them," Kala ordered.  
  
Yallara led both ponies to the stables and found two empty stalls next to each other to house her ponies.  
  
She found a brush hanging in the doorway. Having never brushed a pony before she wasn't really sure how to do it. But she tried to pay attention to which way the hair was laying and brush it that way. Once she had done the gray she moved on to the roan but he wouldn't stand still for her despite all her best efforts. Suddenly she remembered what Kala had said. They had to feed their ponies as well.  
  
Finding the feed bag by the stable entrance she got two big scoops and put them in the horse troughs also putting some hay nearby. Once he could eat the roan stood still, munching down his food.  
  
" What should I name you two?" Yallara asked the ponies. " It should be something that reflects your personality and your looks." She looked over at the mare. " The name Storm reflects your coat very well but it doesn't go with your nature. Especially after what I've heard about you mountain ponies." The roan shook his head and snorted as if in agreement. " Maybe Misty." The mare went on eating.  
  
" I'll take that as a sign that you're not opposed to it. Now what about you?" she turned her thoughts to the roan. " Your nature is busy, chaotic, playful, and unpredictable. Your coat also shows chaos and unpredictable tendencies. Maybe something with wind in it or Sunray, no, Sunfire."  
  
The pony nickered.  
  
" Is that a yes or a no?" Yallara asked. " If it's a no then stand still."  
  
He kept moving around and nickering.  
  
" All right, Sunfire it is."  
  
She finished brushing him, patted both of them on the nose and left for lunch.  
  
This time she wasn't one of the last ones to the mess hall and had her pick of seats. She picked one where no one else was sitting. Soon others came to join her. A girl named Naomi, and the boy who had laughed at her that morning, she found out his name was Justin. The boy that had twisted his ankle also hobbled over to their table, he seemed to know both Naomi and Justin very well.  
  
" I don't believe I introduced myself earlier," he said holding out his hand to Yallara. " I'm Kirem."  
  
She artfully ignored his hand, it wasn't proper for a lady to shake a mans hand, but she answered cheerfully enough to dispel any thoughts he might have had on why she didn't take his offered hand. " My name is Yallara Cordel."  
  
The others stopped eating to stare at her.  
  
" You mean like Capt. Cordel?" Kirem whispered in awe.  
  
" Yes," she replied and didn't stop eating, if she did she might lose her appetite again.  
  
They waited for her to say more but when she just continued eating Kirem finally sat down and fixed his eyes on his food.  
  
" Everyone heard about what happened. I'm sorry," he said and the others murmured agreement. She nodded her head in recognition and silence ensued at their table for a few minutes.  
  
" You know, we've been having lovely weather lately," Naomi announced into the silence.  
  
" Yeah, and I heard it's raining up north," Justin added.  
  
" Soon that storm will move down here though and we'll be training through downpours to enhance are riderly skills," Kirem's matter-of-fact statement made everyone laugh and everything was forgotten.  
  
" I don't think 'riderly' is a real word," Naomi told him.  
  
" It is now," he laughed.  
  
After lunch they went to the stables and learned how to saddle their mounts and then out to the training yard to learn how to ride them. Apparently Kala was sitting in for the Assistant Horsemistress who was running an errand for the King, that's what Kirem said at least before being yelled at to keep moving. Later on Yallara was further surprised to find out that Kala was actually a trainee. She just didn't have to learn how to handle a pony or how to shoot a bow, but would be joining them in their classes in the evening and on their summer trip, which was going to be down along the west coast. They didn't dare to take the trainees north because of the war with Scanra.  
  
In the middle of the afternoon they switched ponies, brushing and feeding the first one and saddling the second one, and then went though the same thing over again. Although this time it was harder for Yallara because she was riding Sunfire. By the time they were to go in Yallara's rear end hurt and she was very tired.  
  
As she finished brushing Misty she whispered to Justin in the next stall over, "When I heard about the Riders no one said anything about sore behinds and fidgety ponies."  
  
He laughed and they put away their brushes and went inside for dinner. After dinner they learned about different animal tracks and meditated. Next they all went to their dormitories for baths. Yallara almost fell asleep in hers but Naomi nudged her back awake.  
  
Laying in bed Yallara was happy with the way the day had gone. She had made friends and learned how to ride a pony to a very small extent. She had also made someone mad at her, but at least that person wasn't bent upon revenge. All in all she hoped that tomorrow would go as well. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four: Passing days  
  
The next morning started as well as yesterday had gone. Yallara woke up along with everyone else and got in line for the limited bathroom space first. She got down to the mess hall quickly, got her food, and sat down next to Kirem, Naomi, and Justin, they were also joined by Trainee Lilia. Kirem, who always seemed to know what was going on, told them all that today they were to start archery.  
  
Yallara looked over at Kala. "I wonder how good a shot Kala is," she said to the others. "I've heard that centaurs are born archers but I've never seen one before."  
  
"I heard that female centaurs are hard to please, they always want stuff," Lilia said. "I wonder what kind of things centaurs like."  
  
"That doesn't seem right," Yallara told them. "Kala didn't seem that way when I talked to her yesterday."  
  
"And she was mad at you," Justin added. Kirem nodded.  
  
"You guys, this sounds to much like gossip for my liking. Change the subject or I think I'll go sit somewhere else." Naomi said. Yallara winced, she hated gossip.  
  
"There's no where else to sit, Naomi," Kirem told her. "I guess you're stuck with us."  
  
"I noticed," Yallara told them. "There are so many trainees here. Is it supposed to be this crowded?"  
  
"No," Kirem answered seriously. "This is the most trainees they've had in the history of the Riders. They have enough for two full Rider groups and the current Rider groups are all ready full. By the time we're done training they will need more Riders to fill in those that were lost up at the front but even when they're done doing that, I recon there'll still be enough for a new Rider group."  
  
"Will-" Lilia was cut off by Sarge, who told everyone that it was time to get to the training yards.  
  
They started the morning with ponies, exchanging mounts at midmorning. After that they broke for lunch, where further conversation with her friends ensued. Then they went to the training yards for archery.  
  
Thayet, Sarge, and Onua arranged the trainees in a line. Each person was provided with a bow and three arrows. Targets were arranged fairly close to the trainees, and three people were assigned to each target.  
  
Those who knew how to shoot a bow were told to shoot one arrow. Yallara watched Kirem, who was among the group, place an arrow on the string of the bow between two of his fingers, he swung it up to give him enough leverage to draw the string back. He aimed and loosed the bowstring with a twang. His arrow hit in the third circle. It was a pretty good shot, there were five circles.  
  
She also got to see Kala shoot. Everyone was amazed, though not entirely surprised, when her arrow hit dead center. All those who shot went up to the targets and pulled out their arrows. The trainees were divided into two groups: those who needed to learn the bow altogether and those who needed to improve on their stance, aim, and so on.  
  
Yallara who had been put into the first group was given a bow and told to place an arrow on it, pull it back, and release while aiming for the target. This was more difficult than Yallara had perceived. The first time she tried she did not pull the string back far enough and the arrow fell to the ground a few feet in front of her. The second time it went a little farther but still fell short of the target. One of the instructors who went up and down the row informed her that to get the arrow to go further you had to pull the string back further. It made sense and Yallara tried, but no matter how hard her muscles strained she couldn't get the string pulled back all the way.  
  
Each attempt she made left her arm a little sorer, making it that much harder to do the thing which she couldn't do in the first place. By the time they were done her arms felt like jelly.  
  
The trainees got a 'merciful' brake from archery so that they had another chance to work with their ponies. After a couple hours of this it was back to archery. Yallara did better this time. She managed to only drop her arrow about five times, and managed to get one arrow to hit the archery target support leg.  
  
Needless to say Yallara got a little frustrated. By the time they were done Yallara was about to throw her bow on the ground, and stomp on it while screaming. When Kirem told her that her face was turning red, she turned redder from embaressment, but she calmed down in the end.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Yallara let the utensils fall down onto her plate with a dull clatter. It would be time for meditation soon. She had no idea how she was going to do it. Tired from a hard days work she was about to fall onto her plate like her fork and sleep until winter.  
  
"Having any doubts about the riders yet?" Kirem inquired, all to innocently.  
  
"No," she mumbled. "Go away."  
  
He grinned and turned back to his food.  
  
"Can I send a letter?" she asked.  
  
"Sure. Kuri is the unofficial post mistress. Just give her your letter she'll make sure it gets mailed." Kirem told her.  
  
"You sure know a lot about everything. How did you learn all this stuff?" she asked suspiciously.  
  
"I have my ways," he replied.  
  
"Translation: I spy and eavesdrop," she told him. "If you're not going to tell anyone at least get a better cover story."  
  
"I'll keep that in mind," he replied.  
  
"All right, you soft skinned lolly gaggers, let's get this place cleaned up," Sarge boomed.  
  
"How did he learn to do that?" Yallara asked Kirem as they picked up their trays and headed toward the kitchen.  
  
"It's like wolves, they run a lot and they build up their wind to support themselves. He probably does a lot of running and so has the lungs he does. I think that's why they have us run up and down the training yards in the morning. Then again, they could just like running us ragged."  
  
"Oh come on, it wasn't all that bad," she said. He let out a short laugh.  
  
Meditation started as all meditation did, by sitting. It was nice to be off her feet but having been sitting on a pony most of the day, sitting didn't ease the pain much.  
  
Again her disability to sleep while sitting came in handy. She couldn't, however, get the meditation. The class afterward was more exiting. They studied natural land traps.  
  
Soon they were off to bed. Yallara wrote a rather lengthy note to Mainar about everything that was happening before she fell asleep.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The next morning Yallara was so sore she was sure the ponies had been riding her and not the other way around. She barely made her legs stretch the distance as they jogged after breakfast, and without Justin's help there was no way she would have gotten on her pony. She didn't complain, however, she had known that the Riders would be hard work and she was willing to do what it took, whatever it took.  
  
The highlight of the morning was when, during archery, she tried swinging her bow in the same motion as she had seen Kirem do the first day. She actually pulled the string back all the way. Unfortunately she couldn't hold it there for more then a second and did not have time to aim. The arrow shot high in the air and landed several yards behind the target. She managed to duplicate the maneuver with better aim and hit the edge of the target.  
  
They started working on the axe that day also. Slowly working new weapons and training into their daily schedule.  
  
That after noon Yallara gave her letter to Kuri so that she could send it. It would take at least three weeks before a reply might come. She wasn't going to hold her breath. Mainar probably had more important things to do in any case.  
  
As the days passed they worked dagger, javelin, spear, basic sword, and both light axe and heavy axe into their daily routine. Under the pressure of their trainers, the trainees improved drastically with the bow, and with the handling of their ponies. Yallara's arm muscles adjusted to the strain of the bow and soon strengthened, giving her a chance to concentrate on her aim and not her arm.  
  
Kala was still giving her the cold shoulder, keeping any conversation to a minimum. Yallara had started avoiding her just to spare herself the awkwardness of it. She hoped Kala would forgive her soon, but by Kuri's reasoning she still had a week and a half to endure.  
  
One day at breakfast Kuri came over and handed Yallara a letter. It was from the King's Own. Yallara was a little confused. Mainar shouldn't have been able to reply this quickly. Her confusion didn't make her hesitate to open the letter, however. It read:  
  
My dearest Yallara,  
  
I hope you're getting along all right. Not pining away without me, are you? Ha, you can't kick me now. I might have to watch myself later though.  
  
Again I must apologize for not being able to help you right now. Alas, my life leaves me no choice. Please, don't hold it against me.  
  
I recently found out that my regiment will not be returning until next year. This is what prompted this letter to you, in fact, though I doubt very much whether I needed such prompting. I will send you another letter soon if not tomorrow. And now to close with a bit of poetry:  
  
I can not banish your lovely features from my mind as I march forward into unknown peril. You shall be ever in my heart.  
  
Yours truly, always and forever, Mainar  
  
Yallara couldn't help but let out a laugh as she read his letter. This, as curious as it was, had to be looked into by her friends. Kirem glanced over at the page. She yanked it out of view, folded it up and stuck it back in its envelope. Kirem, however, had seen the farewell.  
  
"Yallara," Kirem said innocently. "Mainar's going to be disappointed. I don't know if you heard but you're not allowed to commit," he stressed the word. "while you're in the Riders."  
  
"Oh, shut up," she told him with a light slap on the shoulder. "He just said that 'cause he knows I don't like it. Besides, don't you know you're not supposed to read other people's mail?"  
  
"Oh, I know many things," he replied wisely. "Not the least of which is that you, my dear girl, are making excuses."  
  
"Hey now," she warned. "You are this close to crossing a line."  
  
He looked at her fingers, held close together, and gulped in mock fear. "Right," he said. "I'll remember that."  
  
"You better," she told him.  
  
Despite her words, her friends continued to tease her with occasional remarks about Mainar. She dealt with these by first rolling her eyes, and soon ignoring them altogether.  
  
That night as she lay in bed she thought about Mainar's letter. Not the words he said but the words he had left unsaid. It seemed as though he knew her well, even though they had barely known each other for a day. She was so grateful that he hadn't said anything about her parents.  
  
Through these past days she had had little time to think of her parents deaths. She had never seen their bodies, the fire having left nothing. She had not stayed near the desolate place she had once lived long enough to realize how gone it truly was. To her, it seemed as though her parents had disappeared in a flash of bright light and that this all around her was merely a dream. The pain in her heart was that of homesickness, not that of loss.  
  
In her mind she knew they were truly gone but her heart refused to admit it. She was afraid that if Mainar had told her that her parents were dead then her heart would have to except that. She wasn't ready to let go of her hope.  
  
A/N: Thank you to my reviewers. I love you for reviewing. You were all very supportive. Interestingly I'm familiar with at least one of each of your stories( I loved The Whole Truth, The*Spangled*Pandemonium) and am very honored to have you all reading my story. Sorry for taking soooo long to get this chapter up. I seem to be busy all the time. Since it seems to take me so long to update I've decided to email those I can to tell them each time I update. If you don't want me to you'll have to leave a review telling me so or email me at aliusdonaria@yahoo.com (my other email address doesn't work anymore). Feel free to ask any questions you might have. I'll answer them as best I can. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five: Like father, like daughter?  
  
"Ooh, is that from Mainar?" a girl asked.  
  
"Yes, thank you," Yallara replied as if someone had complimented her on a dress. She pocketed the letter Kuri had just given her to read later.  
  
Despite the fact that Kirem, Justin, and Naomi's intention was that of friendly teasing, the word had spread to other, less than friendly people that Yallara was receiving letters from Mainar. For several weeks she had been mercilessly teased about it. However, her serious, and polite yes and no answers had taken away much of the fun and only a few determined people said anything about it anymore. Her friends didn't even peep. She expected they felt bad about having caused all of it. She didn't blame them but thought it better not to bring it up.  
  
"We are going to have a lot of fun today," Kirem commented casually.  
  
"And why is that?" Naomi asked, immediately suspicious.  
  
"Different training today," he said.  
  
"What?" everyone at the table gasped. It had been the same old thing since they started. A mention of change caught everyone's attention. Kirem grinned and Yallara rolled her eyes at him.  
  
"You have too much fun at other people's expense," she informed him.  
  
"I won't argue with you," he replied.  
  
"What about the new training?" someone else asked.  
  
Kirem wasn't able to answer.  
  
"Everyone put you trays away and report to the training yards, NOW!"  
  
The trainees hurried to obey Sarge and were out in the yard three minutes later. Another three after that and they were divided into two groups.  
  
"You may be wondering why you're out here lined up instead of giving your ponies a work out," Sarge walked up and down the rows as he spoke. "This is a special exercise that was put into practice just a few years ago. Lord Wyldon thought it up for the pages he was training. The purpose of the Riders is not quite the same, however. So we have modified this pleasant experience to fit our needs."  
  
"Did Sarge call it a 'pleasant experience'? Now I'm worried," Kirem whispered in my ear. He was standing next to me. Unlucky for him, Sarge heard.  
  
"Trainee Rubaan, you can head up the first group. Trainee Cordel will take the second," Sarge ordered. "Trainee Rubaan your job is to get your group to the 'safe zone', marked on the map we will give you, within two hours. Trainee Cordel your job is to stop him from getting there. You will all be given padded practice weapons coated in blue or red chalk according to your group. If you are hit you are out of the 'game'. Is everyone clear?"  
  
"Yes, sir," everyone shouted.  
  
"Good. The other trainers and I will be monitoring your actions and judging your performances. Saddle your ponies and get back here."  
  
Yallara hurried to the stable debating which pony to use. She decided on Sunfire and began to saddle him even as she started thinking about the best way to catch Kirem, which reminded her,  
  
"Your last name is Rubaan?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah," Kirem answered in a dignified voice. "Is there something wrong with it?"  
  
Yallara just shook her head and lead her pony out of the stable.  
  
Kirem got a fifteen minute head start to confuse the trail and get as far away as he could. She sat on her pony, her fingers itched to start. Finally Thayet gave the go ahead. Yallara gave the signal to start forward at a quick trot.  
  
The trail was easy to track at first. The other group had been trying to make speed. After five minutes or so they had slowed down and started to confuse the trail by having ponies break off the main path and rejoin it later or some other trick they had been taught.  
  
Small tricks didn't throw Yallara off their trail, however, and they kept up a good pace until they came to a river. It was narrow; the problem was that the bottom was rocky. Ponies could travel up and down that river ten hundred times and you wouldn't be able to tell. Without footprints or broken branches that hung over normal paths Yallara wouldn't be able to tell which way they had gone. What's worse Kirem wasn't stupid enough to make a straight heading for their goal he had been weaving the path back and forth since he'd started, making it hard to determine his ultimate goal.  
  
Yallara hopped down from her mount and signaled for the two people she had picked to be second and third in command, Kala and Justin, to do the same. The others she signaled to stay quiet.  
  
"I've looked over the bank of the river and they didn't cross to the other side of the shore. They definitely took the river. The question is, which way?" she told them. "I've tried to figure where they are going. The safe zone would have to be somewhere with a landmark. But there are just too many. A clearing is not far from here, there's a house further ahead, an old shrine to the south. I don't know what to think."  
  
"Perhaps we should split up," suggested Kala.  
  
"I'm not comfortable with that option. He has a full group, if only half of our group comes upon him we won't have enough forces," Yallara explained. "We do need to scout both ways, however. Alright,"  
  
Yallara turned to address the whole group, "I need four swift but quiet riders to scout down both sides of the river. Stay out of the water, we don't want the noise. Scout no more than a mile and return to report any sign of the other group."  
  
Several people stepped forward. Yallara asked Kala to select the four that had the fastest ponies. They were sent and the rest waited anxiously for their return. They waited fifteen minutes before the first two riders returned from the south.  
  
"We didn't find anything to suggest they had passed that way," one of the riders, a girl, reported.  
  
"Very well, give your ponies a drink and a quick rest until the other riders return," Yallara ordered.  
  
After waiting another five minutes Yallara had to take action. Twenty minutes was long enough to run that errand, the riders should have returned earlier. They had been waiting too long doing nothing. Kirem would make sure they got to the safe zone in two hours and one of those hours was already gone.  
  
"We're heading north," Yallara announced. "Mount up and move out."  
  
They followed the stream for nearly a mile before Yallara's private theory was proved. A blotch of blue chalk marked a tree beside the river. Blue was Kirem's color. A little further along Kirem's group had left the river, heading east. The tracks were less than ten minutes old. They were closer than she had thought.  
  
Yallara relied solely upon hand signals now. They had to be absolutely quiet to pull this off. She had Kala and one third of the group to go around on the left side and Justin was to take another third up on the right side. Yallara would take the rest and follow. If Justin and Kala could close the front they could surround Kirem's group. Yallara had given each of them twelve minutes to get into position. On her signal, a bird call whistle, they would attack.  
  
Her only worry came when Kirem started to curve to the right. She hoped Justin had the sense to plan for that. When no fighting sounds came she sighed in relief. One more minute and she would blow the whistle.  
  
Suddenly she heard loud shouting. Cursing she blew the bird call loudly. Hoping that the rest of her party could hear it she led her group forward. Breaking upon the 'enemy' she found Justin already in battle with them. Kala came soon after. It was chaos. Justin's side of their wall was weak, he had lost too many people before Yallara and Kala had gotten there. Yallara led a small group over to strengthen his forces.  
  
Even with Justin's trouble they were winning. Apparently Kirem hadn't known they were that close and had been caught unaware. Soon they had the few 'alive' trainees surrounded (this was more difficult than you might think, because even though the rest were supposed to be dead they were still walking around). Kirem grinned up at Yallara, her bow still trained on him.  
  
"What else should I have expected from a Cordel?" he asked.  
  
"Better," she replied. Two people in the group they had surrounded were not Blue Group. They were her scouts.  
  
Assuming the exercise was over she lowered her bow and dismounted her pony. She found Justin lying on the ground with a nice blue chalk mark on his back. She pulled him up.  
  
"What were you thinking? I bet it never crossed your brain that they might change course, like they have been since we started tracking them. Look at you and your men, you've been thoroughly diced. They almost broke through." Yallara scolded harshly. She may have been taking this first training session a little too seriously but it seemed dead important to Yallara.  
  
"Yallara, this is just training. You can't expect us to be perfect the first time," Justin replied.  
  
"JUST training? We are here to prepare for the real thing. When leading troops you have to be perfect. If you're not, men die," Yallara said vehemently.  
  
No one noticed the judges ride into the trampled patch of under brush that was now a newly made clearing.  
  
"Trainee Cordel, I believe it is our job to do the scolding," Thayet commented. "I agree with you but also Trainee Tyree. You are training for the real thing and it is important to get it right. But you are in training exactly for the reason that you will make mistakes and here you can learn from them so that you do not make them on the battle field. As a matter of fact you all did better than I expected. You did make several mistakes. Trainee Rubaan, you should have picked up your pace after you left the river. You also underestimated the Red Group's speed. You should never underestimate your opponent."  
  
"I tried to pick up the pace but our captives proved to be extremely troublesome," Kirem explained. Yallara looked at her two scouts who were grinning smugly.  
  
"That is just another way in witch you underestimated you opponent," Thayet scolded. "Trainee Tyree," Justin stepped forward. "Trainee Cordel was correct: you forgot to compensate for Blue Groups movement. Do you understand how to fix that problem?"  
  
"Yes, ma'am," Justin replied.  
  
"Good," Thayet nodded. "You lost more men than you had to because of that carelessness. Trainee Cordel, what about you, do you realize your mistake?"  
  
"Yes, your highness," Yallara admitted. "I didn't take into account that Blue Group might have taken my scouts prisoner. I automatically assumed they had killed them. Now that I've caught Blue Group they could have used the prisoners as hostages to barter for safety or they could have been killed in the skirmish."  
  
"Yes," Thayet confirmed. "Trainee Rubaan I commend you on your use of the river and for taking the hostages. Trainee Cordel solved the problem the river posed excellently and compensated for Trainee Tyree's mistake. Now, head back to the barracks. Switch mounts and we'll run through some regular exercises.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I can't eat," Yallara pushed her tray away.  
  
"Don't worry yourself to death. I'm sure Justin is fine," Naomi attempted.  
  
"If he's fine then why didn't he come to dinner?" Yallara argued.  
  
Naomi looked down with a small shrug.  
  
"Sorry. I don't know what's going on with me. I just feel edgy. Look, I'm going to go for a walk I'll be back for meditation." Yallara turned in her tray and left the hall.  
  
She ventured outside. It was dark out but the moon lit enough of her way. Turing around a corner of the main building she heard a loud thump. Glancing around sharply she found a door in the side of the building. It was one of the storage rooms.  
  
Yallara eased the door open. A candle flickered, set on the floor inside. A crate lay sideways, apparently kicked, and a young man stood in front of it. He turned to look at her. She slipped in and shut the door.  
  
They stood in silence while Yallara built her courage.  
  
"Justin, listen," she said. "I didn't mean to get how I did. I don't know why I did that. I guess...my father used to say stuff similarly but he didn't have my mother's fire to mix with it."  
  
Justin just stood there, his face too shadowed to read. Then he nodded stiffly and found a crate to sit on. It took him a moment to find his voice as he stared into the small flame.  
  
"It's not that," he finally said. "I understand that."  
  
Yallara started getting worried about him now.  
  
"What's wrong, Justin?" she asked.  
  
"My father..." he trailed off. "...my father was in the Riders, under the command of Farish."  
  
"Farish? I bet that was wonderful," Yallara replied.  
  
Justin sat still for a moment. Then reached jerkily into his pocket and pulled out a letter and handed it to her. Yallara opened it and squinted in the candle light to read the words.  
  
Mr. Tyree,  
  
I regret to inform you that your father has been killed in active duty. On their way to the capital Second Rider Group was ambushed in the night. None were found alive. I grieve with you in your loss. Many good men and women were killed that night.  
  
Sincerely, Commander Buriram Tourakom  
  
Yallara sat in silent shock for several moments. It was rare to lose a whole Rider group and this was Farish's group. She wasn't famous like some but she was good, very good.  
  
Yallara sat down next to Justin. She extended an arm and gently wrapped it around his shoulder.  
  
"I've never been so angry," he whispered.  
  
"You have the right to be. Don't forget, though, that anger is a good vent but that if you let it control your actions it will turn on you. Happens to me every time."  
  
Justin couldn't help a small smile. The bell rang loudly, disrupting them.  
  
"Meditation. Justin, nobody would mind if you sat out," she told him.  
  
"No, I'll come," he said.  
  
He blew out the candle and they hurried around the building not to be late.  
  
When they entered the mess hall, tables and all aside, Yallara could tell by the trainees faces that the news must have been announced.  
  
She found a place to sit and fell into meditation.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
From that day on they had at least one 'game' session every morning and regular training for the rest of the day.  
  
It was exhausting work. Yallara knew that she herself was too tired even to dream. Meditation was becoming easier, though. Sort of like the quiet refuge in the middle of chaos. Anytime Yallara had the chance she would fall into meditation.  
  
Justin never mentioned what had happened after that. Yallara followed his lead and never did either. They were closer friends for it though and confided more often in each other.  
  
She continued to receive letters from Mainar and to send them. The cold season was approaching fast now and Yallara was annoyed at the thought that letters would be impossible soon. Hopefully the fighting at the front would slow down, though. She tried not to think of Mainar fighting savage scanrans. He was very important to her. It was funny to think that just a few months ago (had it been that long?) she had not wanted anything to do with him. 


End file.
